THN Archive: Selanne Set The NHL On Fire With Magical Rookie Season In Winnipeg

From the moment he broke into the NHL in 1992, Teemu Selanne was a force to reckon with - and in this story from THN's exclusive archive, he proved himself worthy of the hype.

In his Hockey Hall-of-Fame career, Teemu Selanne thrilled fans in four different NHL markets – Winnipeg, San Jose, Colorado and Anaheim. But when he first broke into the league, Selanne was one of the best players in Jets franchise history. And while he played only three-and-a-half years of his 21-season NHL career in Winnipeg, Selanne is forever remembered by Jets fans for what he brought to the organization.

THN was right there with Selanne when he broke into the NHL in 1992, and in this story from our exclusive archive – our March 19, 1993 edition – Vol. 46, Issue 26 – we chronicled his ascent through the rankings of the league’s best performers.

(And don’t forget, you can unlock full access to our 76-year archive by subscribing to our magazine.)

In this cover story, THN writer Michael Ulmer captured Selanne’s rise to prominence. He was just becoming a household name in Manitoba, but he already had made himself famous in his native Finland.

“I think you would find that 98 percent of Finnish people know who Teemu is,” Selanne’s Finnish business manager Harry Harkimo told Ulmer.

“(Selanne) is young, very kind, and considered a friend,” Finnish hockey writer Jarmo Fardij added regarding Selanne. “Small girls love him, and so do old ladies.”

Selanne’s fame in Winnipeg was unstoppable, as he scored an incredible 76 goals in his rookie season.

“Winnipeg is a small city so I’m being recognized more and more,” Selanne told Ulmer. “A lot of (the) time, I find people don’t want to disturb you.”

Selanne went on to win a Stanley Cup with Anaheim in 2006-07, but by that time, he didn’t need a championship to be a Finnish icon.

“There hasn’t been a big Finnish hockey player since Esa Tikkanen and Jari Kurri,” Selanne said in the article. “People were waiting for one.”

Selanne’s legacy ensures he’ll always be one of the top players in his homeland’s history.

By Michael Ulmer

Vol. 46, Issue 26, March 19, 1993

In North America, Teemu Selanne scores goals. In Finland, he sells hockey equipment, milk, children’s clothing, hotel rooms, sunglasses and cars.

As popular as the Winnipeg Jet rookie is in North America, it pales in comparison to the exalted status he enjoys in his homeland.

“(Selanne) is young, very kind, and considered a friend,” said Finnish hockey writer Jarmo Fardij. “Small girls love him, and so do old ladies.”

When Selanne broke Mike Bossy’s record for goals by a rookie with a hat trick against the Quebec Nordiques on March 2, he celebrated the milestone goal by gliding on one knee, throwing up his left glove, pointing his stick at it like a rifle and pretended to shoot it out of the air. The goal and the celebration that followed displayed the kind of talent and charisma that have made him so popular.

When the Jets’ wives and girlfriends held a charity carnival recently, fans waited in line four hours to be photographed with Selanne. He had to be escorted out by security guards when he left. Selanne gets 200 pieces of fan mail per week more than the rest of the team combined.

“Winnipeg is a small city so I’m being recognized more and more,” Selanne said. “A lot of time I find people don’t want to disturb you.”

In Finland, particularly Helsinki, the mob scenes are similar to the ones prompted by Pavel Bure in Vancouver. When asked what he will do upon returning home after the season, Selanne smiles broadly.

“I think I’ll try to find somewhere to hide.”

Good luck.

“I think you would find that 98 per cent of Finnish people know who Teemu is,” said Selanne’s Finnish business manager Harry Harkimo.

Harkimo owns Jokerit Helsinki, the Finnish Elite League team that last year employed Selanne. It is perhaps the truest measure of his clout that the man for whom Selanne worked last year now works for him.

At home, Selanne endorses the country’s largest dairy, Finland’s largest hotel chain, a well-known sunglasses manufacturer, a car company and a manufacturer of children’s clothing. He also endorses Jofa-Titan hockey equipment by wearing their gloves and helmet and using their sticks.

The value of the endorsements is believed to be somewhere about $500,000 (U.S.). There could be more, much more.

“The number we have now is enough,” Harkimo said. “Teemu wants time to rest in the off-season.”

That conservative approach has limited, or at least slowed, the growth of Selanne’s wealth. The Jets will pay him $1.9 million this season. In addition, he is believed to be the second-highest endorsement earner in Finnish sports behind rally driver Juha Kankkunen, who makes an estimated $1.5 to $2 million. There are no North American endorsements for this year at least.

Selanne’s appeal in Finland is not difficult to fathom. He doesn’t have a blemish, either on his face or in his public life. He was twice named player of the year in the Finnish Elite League and led the league in scoring and Jokerit to the league title.

But he is also a high-profile fundraiser for a children’s hospital in Helsinki that specializes in Cancer research and he spent last year teaching children at a nursery school.

The live broadcast of a game to Finland between the Jets and Jari Kurri’s Los Angeles Kings – at least that’s how they’re viewed in Finland – March 28, is expected to be seen by one million viewers.

Only five million people live in Finland and the game will start at 11 p.m.

When Selanne broke Bossy’s mark the story was front-page news in all of the country’s top newspapers.

Helsinki’s Helsingin Sanomat sells 1.5 million papers a day, the most in Finland. Selanne’s record-breaking goal prompted a front-page picture and a banner headline declaring “Finally, It’s Mine” and three full pages on Selanne.

“There hasn’t been a big Finnish hockey player since Esa Tikkanen and Jari Kurri,” Selanne said. “People were waiting for one.”

Selanne was worth the wait. 

The Hockey News Archive is a vault of 2,640 issues and more than 156,000 articles exclusively for subscribers, chronicling the complete history of The Hockey News from 1947 until today. Visit the archives at THN.com/archive and subscribe today at subscribe.thehockeynews.com